Tim and the Animal took a couple minutes during the Morning Show today to throw a few kind words toward Schrock Innovations Computer Company.

We have done a LOT of work for Animal’s computers over the past few months and no matter what he sounds like on the air, he is one of the most good-hearted, caring person that I know. Tim is a true tech lover and he and I would talk for hours about the latest cameras and audio technology if the boss wasn’t around to break it up.

Omaha, NE is a very different beast from Lincoln, NE. Everything is more expensive, less available, and more regulated.

Despite the challenges, Schrock Innovations is planning a massive expansion into Omaha in 2010. Replicating what we have done in Lincoln for $850,000 we are planning to spend nearly $1.9 million to establish a presence in Omaha.

Didn’t Schrock Already Have an Omaha Location?

Schrock Innovations entered Omaha in 2004 with a small 1,500 sq foot expansion office on 84th and Maple Street. We had a radio show on the lightly listened to KOMJ Magic 590 AM, and we managed to generate a profitable first year of operation with a light staff and a lot of small-ticket repair work.

In 2006, Magic 590 was flipped to an all-sports format and re-branded as Big Sports 590. We lost our radio show, and with it the only means of marketing that we had cultivated in Omaha.

We tried to move to KKAR 1290, but after 6 months of radio we only had 2 new customers to show for it. KFAB did not have any available air slots, so we cut our losses and killed the Omaha radio show.

From a financial perspective we should have rolled up the Omaha physical location right then and there. From a moral perspective the right thing to do was to keep the store open to service the hundreds of warranties we had sold on new Modular PCs.

We tried to hedge our losses by locating our web development staff in Omaha and moving the location to a lower rent area on 93rd and Maple.

Our lease on that location expired in October of 2009, and our landlord had the opportunity to lease to a longer term tenant. I was not willing to sign a long-term lease in that space, so we rolled up the location in November 2009 and went to 100% mobile service in Omaha.

What is Going to Be Different This Time?

In a word, everything. The most basic barometer is money and the #1 reason our first entry into Omaha didn’t become a permanent fixture was capitalization.

On our original expedition into Omaha we spent just under $200,000 and managed to cross break even on all start-up costs by mid 2007. When we lost the radio show we did not have the time to develop and cultivate a new advertising medium while maintaining basic services.

This time we are entering the market with a few more factors on our side. First, we are capitalized. We are not borrowing one single penny to make this happen in Omaha.

Second, we have a primary and a secondary advertising medium developed and ready to launch. One model should be enough to gain penetration rapidly, but if it fails or falls short, we have a backup plan that we have been testing successfully in Lincoln for months.

Third, we have a staffing plan that will allow us to add new people to our Lincoln Service Center and train them there and then move some of our existing employees into the new Omaha Service Center to assist and train our new Omaha staff. This “culture graft” will help us maintain our normal service-focused edge as we bring in new people who may have been trained as technicians instead of service providers in the past.

When and Where Will it Be Opening?

We have narrowed our possible locations down to two possibilities – Village Point Mall at 168th and West Dodge Road, and The Shoppes at Legacy at 184th and West Center.

We are targeting September, 2010 as the opening date for the Service Center.

I will have more updates as we lock things in, but all in all this has been a VERY busy month and should be an interesting 4th quarter as well 🙂

Does your PC freeze often, especially when you start or shutdown your computer, or try to launch an application?

If you answered yes, then to rectify the situation you need to first identify the culprit. Typically, a computer freezes when one or more running processes, such as ipssvc.exe, ekrn.exe, or msmpeng.exe, report high CPU usage.

Perform the following steps to identify the process that is eating into your system’s resources:

Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open the Task Manager window.

Click the Processes tab and go through the list of running processes to identify the process that is reporting high CPU usage.

Note: The percentage of CPU resources a process is consuming is listed next to its name.

If you find that one or more processes are frequently reporting high CPU usage, then you need to take corrective measures to get rid of frequent system freeze ups.

The first step is to run a malware scan to ensure your PC is free from malware. Malware processes, if present on your computer, can cause frequent system freeze ups by consuming huge amounts of CPU resources. Do not be fooled by the name of a process, because various malware programs are known to use the same name as genuine processes, such as ekrn.exe or msmpeng.exe.

In case a malware scan reports the presence of malicious programs, immediately remove them to speed up your computer. If no threat was reported, then you need to make a decision about whether or not you wish to disable the process(s) that is causing the frequent system freeze ups.

Before you disable the process, you should first determine the function of the process and the program to which it is attached. Next, check if the process is an essential process or not (one without which the attached program cannot function properly) or if an alternative program, which consumes less resources is available or not. For instance, if you find the genuine ekrn.exe process (this process is part of NOD32 virus protection software) to be constantly consuming huge amounts of resources, then you can uninstall the NOD32 protective software and use another equally potent but less resource-consuming protective software.

On the other hand, if you do not want to uninstall the program to which the high CPU consuming process is attached, then you can choose to disable the culprit process, if it is not an essential process. To understand this better, an example is shared below:

If you find ipssvc.exe (this process is part of the ‘LanCom VPN’ software) is constantly consuming huge amounts of CPU resources, then you can safely disable the process to avoid frequent system freeze ups.

To disable a process, you need to complete the following tasks:

Remove the process from your Startup Programs list using the System Configuration utility (msconfig).

Disable the service to which the culprit process. You can do this from the Services management console window that you can easily display by running the services.msc command.

We hope you make use of the suggestions presented in this article to tackle high CPU usage issues on your PC and avoid any further unwarranted system freeze ups. The key to resolving high CPU usage issues is to identify the culprit process(s) and then perform definite measures to rectify the situation.

Encountering a computer error can be a frustrating experience, especially if you are unaware of its cause or the steps you need to follow to troubleshoot it. One of the most common Windows errors that irritate computer users are DLL errors.

So, what are DLL errors anyway and how does one deal with them?

DLL files are a group of files that contain codes that allow them to perform one or more specific functions, such as providing graphical user interface for applications or controlling dialog boxes. A DLL file can be used by multiple applications simultaneously.

This brings us to the next question – Why are DLL errors so common? Well, there are many reasons for a DLL error, but the main reason for their frequent occurrence is attributed to the fact that these files are present in huge numbers on all Windows PCs.

One of the most common types of DLL errors are “missing or not found” DLL errors. Examples of common “missing or not found” DLL error messages are shared below:

“This application failed to start, an important component mfc80u.dll is missing. Reinstalling the application may fix the error.”

As you can guess, the most common “missing or not found DLL errors” occur because of missing DLL files. Listed below are the two most common situations that lead to the removal of a DLL file and the steps you need to perform and repair the missing DLL error.

Deletion of a DLL file by mistake

Removal of a DLL file by mistake is also a common occurrence. This generally occurs when a user intends to delete a file that has a name similar to a DLL file.

If you believe you have mistakenly removed the DLL file, then restore the DLL file from the Recycle Bin. This should correct the missing DLL error. If you have already emptied the contents of the Recycle Bin, then you may use a reliable third-party recovery tool to recover the lost DLL file.

Malware Infection

Malware programs, such as virus, trojans and rootkits have the potential to affect your computer’s performance in many ways. Malicious programs are notorious for modifying or deleting important files like DLL files.

If you suspect your PC is infected, first run a malware scan using a reputed antivirus and antispyware tool to delete the malware and restore your PC’s integrity. Next, if the missing DLL file is a non-Windows file, download a new copy of the DLL file from a reliable DLL online directory. There are many free DLL directories available on the Internet that offer free downloads of DLL files. However, before you select a website always confirm that the website is safe and genuine. The reason being – there are many dubious websites that are known to push rogue or malicious files in disguise of genuine DLL files. Downloading a file from such websites may cause more harm to your PC.

In case the missing DLL file is a Windows file, then you simply need to extract a copy of the DLL file from your original Windows installation CD and restore it in the right folder.

It is also recommended that you run a registry scan to ensure that the DLL error is not caused due to an incorrect DLL entry in the registry.

This morning Schrock Innovations issued a press release about what the company is doing to help businesses use their websites to weather the Great Recession.

Here is the text of the release:

Schrock Bets on Lincoln’s Digital Recovery With Hire

With the prospect of a double-dip recession looming, Schrock Innovations is betting Lincoln’s businesses will turn to the web

Lincoln, NE, March 29, 2010: Although Lincoln’s economy is the nation’s second best for its size, that doesn’t mean local businesses are escaping the pinch of the Great Recession.

Schrock Innovations, a local Lincoln computer company, has hired Brian Augenstein to captain the company’s Web Development Division as demand for their local web-based services grow in the face of a recessionary business environment.

Thor Schrock owns Schrock Innovations and he believes that businesses are turning to the web because, when used properly, it is less expensive to generate leads, sales, and profits online. Schrock has been buying media in Lincoln for 11 years and he is seeing the signs of a business environment that is scared to take chances.

“When I can buy commercials during the NCAA Final Four for $10 per spot, that speaks toward the business climate,” Schrock said. “Couple advertising cuts with layoffs, outsourcing, and rising taxes and the result is a timid business environment that is fearful for the future.”

For what it would normally cost to run a single television commercial, Schrock Innovations is redesigning websites to make them more efficient at delivering information, generating leads, and bringing shoppers through the doors of Lincoln businesses.

“For many businesses, their website is an afterthought in the marketing budget. With marketing dollars becoming scarce, tweaking a company’s web presence is becoming more attractive because local businesses see immediate returns that go on over time without continued investment.”

Schrock points out that many businesses have all of the information they need right now to boost sales and profitability through their websites, but simply don’t know how to do it. Rather than designing a website for a client and walking away, Schrock Innovations helps its clients see the potential in the present and the future.

“In the past it was enough to know who your customers were,” Schrock said. “In today’s web world you need to know who they are, where they are coming from, how to reach them, and what they want. If you use your website to get that information, sales and profits are a natural conclusion.”

Schrock’s team of internet marketers and designers evaluate a company’s web presence based on three criteria. If a client is missing any of the three, Schrock shows them how to claim the business they are missing out on:

You don’t know how many of your customers or clients come from your website. There are numerous free online tools that allow you to track how many customers search for you, find your website, and then what they look at before they leave.

Your website has few visitors. Many of the websites designed between the late 1990’s and the mid 2000’s were designed as an online brochure rather than a marketing piece designed to attract visitors and convert them into paying customers. If you didn’t own the company, what is the #1 reason you would go to your website?

Your website is not reflective of what you do. Companies are necessarily focused on the day-to-day activities of running a business. Over time, businesses can evolve to offer new products, services, and even change their look. Does your website represent where your brand is today, or where it was 5 years ago?

“If a company’s website has traffic, tracking, and conversion that means they are making money. A website is more than a billboard. It should work for your company day and night. If it is not, your business is missing an opportunity to make money in the toughest of economic times.”

Schrock Innovations, a local Lincoln computer company, has hired Brian Augenstein to captain the company’s Web Development Division as demand for their local web-based services grow in the face of a recessionary business environment.

While I was taping last weekends show in the studio with Chris Goforth the first day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament was under way.

In between each segment Chris was switching between the studio mode and the KLMS 1480 – ESPN Sports Lincoln feed to catch the latest scores.

I am not a huge basketball fan, and while an upset is always interesting something else stood out to me above all else. There were no local commercials in the commercial segments.

Why No Local Commercials?

In just 5 weeks 1480 AM was flipped from a sports station, to an oldies station, and then back to a sports station again just days before the tournament began.

There was simply no time for the sales management to put together commercial packages, get them to the sales people, and then present them to clients.

These situations always interest me because here I saw a great sports product paired with a station with available advertising spots, and a lack of a pre-defined pricing structure.

I was already in the studio, so we cut a quick :30 spot (listen to it here) and I simply asked the station manager if I could advertise during the games. Of course they agreed, so the only thing to work out was the price.

I was able to get spots during each game for an unbelievable price just because I asked. The price was so good that I asked if I could have 2 spots per game instead of one. They agreed!

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